


Ghostly Trees

by Short_n_Salty



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Suicide, Suicide Attempt, Uhhhh Evans a ghost this time, but it could get really fluffy, it could get pretty angsty, nobody has written evan as the dead one before from what ive seen, this is my first fic so like ya
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-04-14 08:37:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14132298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Short_n_Salty/pseuds/Short_n_Salty
Summary: The leaves blew gently in the wind. The surroundings seemed to buzz with life, the last of the cicadas singing, the birds chirping a pleasant sound and the constant but distant sound of lawnmowers, power tools and kids screaming with laughter as they were being chased through their front yard. Evan heard it all from the orchard. Days passed by like a blur, he was stuck with his own thoughts and the occasional teenager that broke into the orchard every so often. They couldn’t see him, nobody could. You see, while life thrived around him, he had yet to live himself.Evan Hansen was a ghost. Literally.The way he died was fuzzy and he would rather not remember it due to the big gaping hole in his stomach. Guess he didn’t have to worry about being fat anymore, not like anybody could see him anyway. The only interaction he had was with the nature around him. He could sprout tiny dandelions and small white flowers where he walked. If he focused hard enough, he could make moss grow where he sat. His only connection with life was through nature, and apparently one Connor Murphy. But we will get to that later.





	1. In the Beginning...

The sunny afternoon had certain feel to it Evan thought. The calmness and serenity of what he called home would had been nice and would have calmed him in life. He barely felt any emotion now, it wasn’t a  choice exactly, it came with the price of being dead. The only way he felt something was when he thought about his poor mother. He hopped she was doing well, getting to her classes and able to live well without him. He would sob for hours on end without feeling the least bit tired. He missed his mother and yearned greatly for her touch and warmth. Sometimes he would lay in the fields and lookup at the sky. He would wonder if Jared had even cared that he was dead. Probably not. 

Nobody knew him so why did he care any way. 

He climbed up a tree, the motion feeling so familiar to him. It gave him a sense of deja vu every time he would grab a branch and hoist himself up.. He would shake the feeling off and continue his task grabbing at branches and finding his way to the top of the tree. He would watch the world from above, he couldn’t leave the orchard. 

He laid on the branch for who knows how long before his mind focused back on the world around him. The sound of a car engine was close, Evan heard the tires squeal a bit as the vehicle came to a stop in front of the old apple orchard. The engine was turned off and an a young teen with an angry aura to him kicked the door open and practically broke the door off of the old jeep getting out. The door slammed and Evan flinched. He quickly scaled the tree, not worrying about falling. 

He would be anxious, he would have stayed in that tree and waited until the upset looking teen left. But something pulled him, it almost felt like he had a purpose with this person. 

As his worn out sneakers softly hit the ground he saw the movement of said teen out of he corner of his eye. 

Long hair covered the boney pale face, thin fingers painted a burnt black fumbled with a lighter as the other hand reached into his pocket of his black hoodie, presumably for a cigarette or a joint. 

_ Connor Murphy _

Evan froze up. He was the person who threw a printer at Mrs. G in the third grade. Or that was what was rumored. He flipped off a teacher, he beat kids up for even looking at him wrong. He was scary. 

But Evan didn’t feel scared, no no. He felt something else. He felt... _ fondness _ . He wanted to reach out and snatch that cigarette that the young Murphy had lit and was now puffing out smoke.

Why did he care so much. And when the hell did he start feeling things again. 

Every teenager that came to the abandoned place, every living thing that Evan encountered, he has never felt that way.  _ Why Connor Murphy _ .  


	2. Some People are Closer Than You Think

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (∩ ͡° ³ ͡°)⊃━☆ﾟ.*

Connor slammed the door to the vehicle. He ran a hand through his knotted hair. He pursed his lips as he started at a brisk walk down the old path. He needed to get away from his house, his family, his thoughts.   
He found his usual spot, old cigarette butts scattered around the base of the tree. Connor brushed away the trash and sat down. He rifled through his pockets looking for his lighter, he pulled out the almost empty cigarette box and mumbled, “I just bought this.” His eyes scanned his surroundings before covering the lit flame to make sure it wouldn’t go out while lighting his cigarette.   
He quickly took a puff, feeling the burn in the back of his throat. That familiar feel the nicotine gave him. The world and his mind finally seemed to slow down as he leant against the base of the tree. His eyes remained closed as he yet again took another puff from the cig. He opened his eyes and watched the smoke dissipate into the air. He wished he could be there forever. He wish he’d never existed.  
He felt something crawl up his arm, figuring it was a bug he tried to shake off the pest. The itch did not seem to disappear. One single daisy had grown next to him and brushed his arm. He was sure it wasn’t there before.   
“What the fuck.” he said to nobody but himself. All of a sudden everything seemed to be teeming with life around him. Moss started growing on the tree roots unnaturally fast.   
“Ok seriously what the actual fuck.” he jumped up, forgetting about the lit cigarette. Something moved out of the corner of his eye.   
“I've seen enough horror movies to know how this ends.” He said aloud, he turned on his heel and started at a brisk walk back to the safety of his car. His eyes darted around, all of a sudden everything didn’t seem bright anymore.   
“Wait!” He jumped out of his skin and stopped in his tracks. The voice echoed in the back of his mind.   
“Please!”   
“Who a-are you?!” Connor shouted, not daring to move a muscle. He sensed a presence behind him, against the voice screaming in his head telling him to run, he slowly turned around, ready to punch whoever was stalking him.   
His eyes focused, there was a figure. A boy, a little shorter than him stood there with a pleading expression. He adorned a blue polo with stripes, a pair of beige khakis and simple gray running shoes. He was pale, but the freckles and the deep green eyes stood out.   
Connor recognised this boy.   
Connor took a step back, all of a sudden the air seemed to leave his body. His mind seemed to focus on the face.   
“C-Can you see me?” The flickering figure took a step forward. He seemed to be hopeful.   
“Back off!” Connor yelled.   
“I'm s-sorry!” He seemed to close in on himself. Shrinking back and making himself look smaller.   
“What is this? Some sick joke?! Dress up as the kid who killed himself and torture the freak who wants to die!?” Connor yelled, getting up close.   
“N-No! I-I- Wait, you-you can see m-me?” He stuttered out.   
“You’re sick!” Connor accused.  
His hands moved up to push the teen, except, his hands didn’t hit a body. They hit a cold pocket of air.   
He stumbled forward and fell to his knees. He quickly turned around in panic.  
The form was still there, Evan Hansen the teenager who killed himself jumping from the tree. The details were gory.  
(TW: This part gets very descriptive with gore, I will explain what happens in a less gory way in the summary for the next chapter, as it is important)  
He had been impaled by the limb of a tree, they found his body a day later after his mother had called the police reporting that her son was missing.   
Blood was trickling down the unnaturally bent arm and the eyes were dull and without life. Tears still stained the pale face of the blonde boy. The branch jutted out at his stomach, soaked in day-old blood.   
The scene was horrifying. No mother should see her son like that, nobody should.  
(gore over)  
Evan Hansen wasn’t very well known. Sadly, nobody seemed to care. Everybody moved on with their daily lives like nothing had changed.  
Connor had noticed Evan in the halls, he was the shadow of Jared Kleinman. He always kept his head down, never spoke up for himself and ate alone at lunch. Connor had known that no way in hell was Kleinman his friend. Connor never had many friends, he’d always get to distant or scare them off. No better that everybody called him a stoner.   
“Wha-who-huh?!” Connor stuttered out. He crawled backward.   
“I'm dead!” Evan shouted.   
“I'm fucking dead for christ sake!” He stomped his feet and daisies bloomed rapidly and died just as fast.   
“I'm not high enough for this.”


	3. Chapter 3

Connor sat down, more like fell. His eyes wide and his whole body slump. Evan chewed on his lip, a habit, even in death, was persistent. Evan had just taken at least an hour to convince Connor he was real, or a real ghost.   
“I-I’m su-sure you have a lot of questions?” Evan asked timidly, he didn’t know whether to sit down, stand, or kinda float there. Connor looked on edge about the situation.   
“So, you’re a ghost…” Connor repeated, more in a manner for himself than asking Evan.   
“Yeah….”  
“Isn’t that the saddest fucking thing i’ve ever heard.” Connor let out a snarky, sarcastic laugh.   
The brown haired teen ran his boney hand through his hair, his eyebrows knitted together in concentration.   
“This is wild, man.” Connor said.   
“Tell me about it.” Evan responded half-heartedly.   
They sat in silence, awkward. One not really knowing what to say to the other. Evan fidgeted with his powers of making plants and nature do his bidding. Connor watched him in silent wonder out of the corner of his eye, by now he had lit another cigarette, even after Evan’s looks of protest and worry   
(“Why do you care so much? You’re dead?” “That’s not the point.”)  
Connor all of a sudden stood up, making the ghost teen jump. He dropped the cigarette after taking one last drag and squashed it under his boot.   
He let out the smoke while still looking to the ground, he was in deep concentration.   
“So if you’re dead,” Connor finally spoke up, his own voice seeming to startle him, “how the hell am I talking to you?” Connor asked the million dollar question.   
“I r-really don-n’t know?” Evan said looking up at the taller. “I mean everyone else i’ve encountered hasn’t noticed me, but i’ve been used to that feeling my whole life.” He had said that last part under his breath.  
“Hey, I should probably get going?” Connor said, pulling out his phone. Evan shrunk down, wanting the teen to leave but also craving the company.   
“Okay…” Evan whispered. “Will you be back tomorrow?” he asked.   
Connor thought for a few moments, “Yeah, why not?” He said shrugging his shoulders.   
Connor seemed surprised when Evan’s face seem to light up. Maybe Evan was so excited because he was the only person he could communicate with. He figured if Evan had a choice to communicate with anybody, it definitely wouldn’t be him. Why him, it could be anybody else but why Connor? Even if he was being used to kill boredom, Evan was still pleasant to talk to. Even if Evan didn’t care what he was like, or what music he enjoyed. Connor became frustrated at his thoughts. It’s a damn ghost, why was he rationalizing this. He seemed to shake his head, he was staring absentmindedly at a tree.   
Evan had disappeared.   
“Good bye then!” Connor shouted, he noticed a small yellow rose had creeped up his shoe, the tips of it were a bright red. Connor looked around and picked the flower from the ground and smiled to himself. Usually he would never let himself look that vulnerable, but nobody was around. The rose had thorns so Connor held the flower by the base of the head as he walked to his car. He gently placed the flower on the dashboard of his Jeep so he wouldn’t forget about it. There was a significance to the flower, somehow.   
He put the key into the ignition and the car started, Connor’s music coming through the speakers. He picked up his phone to change the song. Once settled he pulled the car into reverse and backed out of the orchard. Still slightly bothered by the fact that he had gone there to smoke a joint and somehow met a goddamn ghost.   
Evan watched Connor go after seeing him pick up the flower, it was something he hadn’t expected Connor to do. At all. He saw Connor pull out of the parking lot and watched him leave. Evan sat down in his tree, closing his eyes. He couldn’t sleep but that was just how he passed the time by listening to the world go on around him, without him.


	4. All will be explained in due time

Connor got home and practically jumped onto his bed. He had slipped passed his parents and Zoe and had made it to his room. He kicked off his boots and took his hoodie off, throwing it across the room without a second thought.   
He rummaged around the mess he called his room for his laptop, making a small noise of success when he found it. He took one of the ponytail holders from around his wrist and put his hair up in a loose ponytail.   
Connor pulled the computer onto his lap and typed something in.   
Evan Hansen suicide   
Multiple articles came up. Connor picked the first one, it was a website for a local newspaper.   
Evan Benjamin Hansen committed suicide July 27th. His mother reports that he had been struggling with anxiety and depression his whole life and it got worse during his senior year of highschool. Our hearts go out to those who are struggling. Please seek help if you know you need it.   
The reports of the incident are gruesome and are not going to be made public. His mother-   
So, Connor was right. He wasn’t crazy. He clicked out of the article and looked around at other links.   
There were pictures.   
He felt dirty looking at the pictures. He felt uneasy.   
The picture in front of him was Evan Hansen’s body, the clothes tattered and bloodied. The cold dead face of the person he was just having a conversation with. It all seemed to surreal for him. His vision blurred and he zoned out lost in thought and terror.   
It seemed like everything was a lie.   
He didn’t know how long he had been staring at his computer, maybe a little too long because his head started to hurt. He shut his laptop and pushed it unceremoniously off his lap. He rubbed at his face and laid down in a more comfortable position.   
His eyes felt droopy and he fell into a heavy sleep.  
He was back at the orchard again. Everything was black and white, except for him and the figure in front of him.   
It was Evan. he was crying, sitting at the base of a tree.   
Connor watched unable to move.   
Evan was curled up in a ball, his knees to his face, making himself look smaller than he was. Sobs erupted from the boy. Then nothing, no sound and the shaking stopped.   
He looked up at Connor. His face tear stained and eyes red and puffy.   
He got up and turned around, like he was almost possessed. He climbed the tree stiffly, Connor started to worry when he got up too high.   
Evan sat on the branch, the expression on his face, blank and emotionless. Then in one swift motion he chucked his body off the branch. Connor tried to scream, tried to move, but it was to no avail.  
Then nothing.   
Connor opened his eyes, his heart still pounding. He sat up and looked at his clock.   
3:33am.   
He plopped back down on the pillow, his hair fanning out. He inhaled sharply and his hands balled into fists. He felt the emotions well up, as well as tears. He scrunched his face up trying to keep it straight, then a choked sob spilled out, then another and another. Soon hot tears were running down his face as laid in bed and cried. His eyes squeezing shut, and his eyebrows furrowed.   
Connor cried for half an hour before falling back asleep.   
—  
The alarm on his phone chimed and Connor simply hit ignore. It was the weekend, like hell he would wake up early.   
—  
There was pounding on his door.   
“Connor! Wake up! Are you dead in there?!” Zoe’s voice was muffled through the door.   
“I wish.” He mumbled under his breath.   
“Go away and shut the fuck up!” Connor yelled back, he laid back down and pulled the covers back over himself.   
More pounding.  
“I told you leave me alone!” He shouted again.   
He heard a huff then soft thumping down the hallway.  
He shut his eyes again.   
—  
He woke up on his own again. He stayed in the same position for a bit, his eyes not really focusing on anything interesting.   
The blinds were open, he had left them open the night before. He was painting, he liked to open the window and let in the fresh air while he painted. Everything was foggy. He checked his phone.  
12:20.  
Nobody texted him, no notifications. Nothing.   
He was deciding if he should go back to sleep or not but then he remembered Evan.   
His heart rate picked up just a little bit at the thought.   
I should go see Evan   
Something willed him to get up and get dressed.   
He threw on a t-shirt that said “I have a natural talent for being irrational.” and a black pair of jeans and grabbed a sweatshirt. He grabbed his keys, phone, and cigarettes and headed out the door. He hopped into his car and pulled out of the driveway. He was able to make his getaway so easily was because his parents were out and Zoe wouldn’t care.   
He drove to the orchard in record time, (aka running a few red lights). He didn’t know why he wanted to see Evan again so badly.   
“Evan!” He called as soon as he got out of his car. He looked around and walked in.   
“Evan! Where are you?! It’s Connor!”   
A figure appeared in front of him, flickering until the image was steady.   
“Y-you came back?- I mean! I’m n-not-it’s not that I don’t want you here, I’m j-just surprised.” Evan stammered out.   
“Yeah, I told you I would, didn’t I?” Connor said, sitting down.   
Evan sat cross-legged in front of him.   
“So.”   
“So.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some shit goes down

Evan belted out a laugh.   
“You’re telling me, this kid walked out of the bathroom and onto stage, trailing toilet paper behind him?” Evan rolled over. A gentle smile on his lips and his pale cheeks a slight rosy red.   
“Yeah! And the whole audience was silent, nobody told the poor kid!” Connor said, giggling in between words  
“Oh man.” Evan chuckled   
“What about you?”   
“Huh?”   
“Do you have any funny stories with friends? Or just people?”   
Evan’s smile faded a little.   
“Um, not really? But there was this one time my ‘friend’ Jared tried to flip off a handrail and hit his balls. I told him it was a bad idea.” Evan said, smiling a little at the memory.   
“Jared Kleinman?!” Connor exclaimed.   
“Yeah?” Evan said looking up at Connor, he played with some leaves that were in his hand.   
“Full offense, but he’s an asshole.” Connor said, anger lining his voice.  
“Yeah, we weren't really friends.” Evan mumbled, ripping the leaves.   
“I saw you with hang out with him a lot though?”   
“We only hung out because his parents paid for his car insurance if he stuck around with me.” Evan said, bitterly.   
“Oh.”   
It got quiet for a bit, they just enjoyed the sounds. There was a calm breeze that drifted through the orchard. Evan turned his head and looked at Connor, who was looking at the clouds, squinting. His hair laid calmly on his shoulders and his breathing was steady. He looked like he was picking out every detail, every miniscule thing about the sky. His blue eyes were concentrated, focused on a point.   
“I don't remember how I died.” Evan said, out of the blue.   
“You seem like you know, all I have to go on is this.” He pulled up his shirt and there was at least half a foot wide, gaping hole where his stomach was supposed to be. Nothing oozed out of it, just a hole.   
“Holy fuck.” Connor exclaimed out of breath, he scooted back in surprise. Evan pulled his shirt down.   
“Sorry.” Evan looked down and picked at the grass.   
“I'm just curious, maybe knowing would help me move on?” Evan said, hope laced in the dead teen’s voice.   
“Do you really want to know?” Connor said, looking at Evan.   
Evan looked at him for a moment.   
“I- Yes.” Evan nodded.   
Connor sighed.  
“You killed yourself.” Connor mumbled, almost afraid.   
“Oh.” Evan said, he placed his hands in his lap. He thought for a moment.  
“How?”   
“Well, you jumped from that tree over there.” Connor said, pointing.   
Connor looked back at Evan, who was looking down at his transparent hands  
He was uncomfortably quiet.   
“Ev?”   
Evan grimaced, thoughts racing from one bad thought to the next.   
“Hey, are you alright?” Connor leaned into to give a comforting hand to the teen.   
“Th-th-that was s-s-so self-f-fish of m-me.” Evan stuttered out, he stood up and Connor followed. “I...I’m so angry w-with myself. I thought killing myself would make all my problems go away!” Evan shook, thorny vines started to creep up his legs. He didn’t do anything to stop them, he just let them grow. He squeezed his eyes shut and started to tremble.   
He started to cry, then the crying turned into wailing.   
“Evan?!” Connor needed to get Evan out of that state of mind for that moment.   
Soon the surroundings were covered in evergreen, including Connor. He shook off the foliage the best he could.   
“Evan, listen to me. Listen to my voice.” he called.  
Vines started to wrap around his leg.   
“Evan!” Connor shouted himself hoarse.   
“I thought I would disappear! Be gone from this earth!”   
“Evan I genuinely want to be your friend! I saw you in the hallways at school but I never dared to approach you because I thought I would scare you away. You are my only friend!”   
Evan, in a state of shock stopped for a moment and he almost looked alive.   
“C-Connor?” His voice was small.   
“Please, help me.”   
And then he vanished.


	6. hiatus

hey guys! thank you all for the support and love that you are giving it helps me along a lot! unfortunately i have been unable to sit down and write as i am in marching band and studying to pass summer school. i’m going to thank you ahead of time for your patience and i may be able to update end of august or early september. 

cheers! -Reg


	7. chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry for like the hiatus there’s prolly gonna be another

Connor had been walking around, hoping to see the ghost. Calling his name was a lost cause because all that responded to him was the wind. He did another quick search around the empty orchard before giving up.   
Connor jumped the old fence that stood and walked to his car. Maybe he would go to the town library sometime that week.   
The last thing Evan said to him was to help him.   
What the hell does that mean? How the hell are you supposed to help a ghost when all you know is they’re supposed to be spooky fucks who kill innocent people in movies because they’re pissed at somebody else?   
Connor started the car, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. He had been slowly savoring them until he was able to buy a new pack. He pulled out a cigarette. He stopped for a second though. Evan told him not to. But Evan wasn’t there.   
Connor put the box and the cigarette back with a huff. He figured he’d smell like smoke, get yelled at by somebody and that’s not what he needed right now.   
-  
He dropped a pile of books onto the table, he most likely wasn’t going to read them since he brought his laptop, but it was just in case he couldn’t find anything online.   
-  
Several articles and a few cups of coffee later, Connor had found a lot of ghost lore. Some pertaining the situation his dead friend was in.   
Ghosts are a form of the undead. They are called many different names and each culture has a different, but similar belief system about them. Some spirits are said to haunt places and/or people. They can be violent poltergeists or neutral entities. A spirit usually comes about when a violent or unnatural death has occurred. Suicide and murder are the leading causes of violent spirits, seeking revenge or an explanation to why they have died.   
Evan was unfamiliar with his cause of death. Connor had made small notes on a notebook he had brought with him. Once he figured out how to help Evan, he was planning to tell him all the things he had learned. He missed Evan actually, he was the only person he talked to. Most of the time people just yelled at him or gave him weird looks like if they said hi that he would go off on them. Instead of doing what he came to the library to do, he was doodling little ghost Evans all over his paper and falling asleep. He figured that this wasn’t getting him anywhere. Started to pack up his things and he turned around and ran straight into another body. Connor grunted as he regained his balance.   
It was Jared Kleinman.   
“Whats up Hot Topic?” Jared said smugly. He tossed his book bag over his shoulder and tried to act like nothing happened.   
“Eat a dick, Kleinman.” Connor hissed. He threw his messenger bag over his shoulder and tried to push past the smaller teen.  
Jared grabbed his arm and Connor whipped around at the contact.   
“Stop going to the orchard.” He said, his mood changing rapidly.   
“Wha- are you stalking me or something?!” Connor said trying to free himself from Jared’s grip.   
“Just don’t go there.” Jared said in a low intimidating tone.  
“Why do you care?” Connor accused, he managed to rip himself from Jared’s grasp.   
“Bad things lurk there.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic and i hope this peek your interest, follow my insta @cryptidreg or my treenbros acc, @tree.bros.doodles for art for some of these fics! note that some chapters will not be the same length and the first chapter will probably be the shortest


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